Diego Llorente transfer value plummets at Leeds United as Jesse Marsch takes action – Sky Sports pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Diego Llorente’s transfer value is going to plummet due to the fact he’s been axed from the Leeds United starting line-up, according to Paul Robinson.
Llorente, 29, has been in poor form for Leeds this season and was dropped to the bench for the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last week as Liam Cooper returned to the starting line-up.
It meant that the other three first-team centre-backs all started that game while Llorente watched on from the bench as they kept a clean sheet despite going down to 10 men early in the second half.
Llorente’s future could come under doubt in the coming months as he’ll enter the final year of his Leeds contract at the end of this season.
Robinson feels that if the Spain international is sold in January, a replacement will be needed but the ex-goalkeeper doubts the centre-back will be worth the £18million Leeds paid for him back in 2020.
“It’s not a case of cashing in on him because if he’s not going to play, his value is going to plummet.
“He’s a good player but Llorente’s consistency has been the problem. He’ll make mistakes, he’ll have a couple of really good games and then he’ll play like he did at Brentford and be at fault for a couple of goals or give away chances.
“I’ve watched him so many times and I really like him, I think he’s a top player when he’s at it and when he’s switched on and he’s concentrating. But there have been games where he doesn’t do it.
“He’s not a dependable centre-half but he’s a top-quality player who I do like. But he does give away too many chances and takes too many risks.
“As far as getting rid of him, the club can’t ride on three centre-halves.
“You’ve seen the problems they’ve had with Liam Cooper and Robin Koch being injured.
“If Llorente was looking to move on or the club were looking to move him on, they’d have to replace him and the cost of replacing him would be more than what he would demand as a transfer fee.“
It remains to be seen if Llorente will continue to miss out on Jesse Marsch’s starting line-up when the Whites face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, 9 October.
In other Leeds United news, an unexpected exit could be on the cards at Leeds after what happened in the Premier League on Friday.